Jake Tapper Is Getting Attacked For Saying What Many Are Thinking About Afghanistan

Jake Tapper, the host of CNN's "The Lead," is getting blasted
after interviewing former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell Friday night.

The interview was about the new movie, "Lone Survivor," which
portrays a failed SEAL mission in Afghanistan.

Reflecting on his thoughts while watching the film and the sense
of "hopelessness" he felt it portrayed, Tapper said, "I was
torn about the message of the film in the same way that I think I
am about the war in Afghanistan itself. I don’t want any more
senseless American death. And at the same time I know that there
were bad people there and good people that need help."

I watched "Lone Survivor" last night. I won't spoil it for
you if you haven't seen it (you should), but it tells the story
of four Navy SEALs being attacked by a bigger force, being shot
multiple times, and falling down a mountain. This did seem like a
hopeless ordeal to me when I saw it on screen.

These SEALs were all heroes, there's no question about that. But
reflecting on the larger picture surrounding this particular
mission, Operation: Red Wings, and the broader war in
Afghanistan, shouldn't be taboo.

As Ed Darack, the author of the book "Victory
Point," wrote
for the Marine Corps Gazette:

RED WINGS was an incredible tragedy for the families, friends,
and associates of those lost. From a tactical / operational
standpoint, and from an analysis of its influence on furthering
security in the region (the operation’s purpose), the opening
phase of RED WINGS was an unmitigated monumental disaster—one of
the greatest, if not the greatest, in recent military history.
Because so many resources were pushed to aid the recovery effort
(the search and recovery was called RED WINGS II), other planned
operations (not just in that part of the AO, but throughout
Afghanistan), had to be delayed and many cancelled altogether.
Ahmad Shah, a once unknown local Taliban aspirant, gained instant
global fame and saw his ranks, finances, and armaments (including
those taken from the SEALs) burgeon, enabling him to renew his
attacks with greater intensity and frequency.

But here's what's really senseless: Attacking Jake Tapper for
asking a question that I ask myself every time I receive an email
notification from the Department of Defense that another service
member has died in Afghanistan.

Namely: Why are Americans still fighting (and dying) there?

"The Department of Defense announced today the death of a
soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom," the
emails all begin, followed by the name, rank, age, hometown, and
terse statement of how they died.

My first thoughts when I get these are of sadness for the family.
My second thought is always, what are we still doing there?

I was a U.S. Marine on the ground in Afghanistan from 2004 to
2005, so I know firsthand what it's like. I know Americans who
have been killed. So, do I get a pass in asking these questions?
Is it alright for me to ask this question, because I was there
and Jake Tapper wasn't?

"You don't have to be a veteran to judge whether or not the war
is or was worth it," tweets
former Army officer Andrew Exum.

It's time we have an adult non-screaming-at-each-other
conversation about what we want to accomplish in Afghanistan, as
well as an objective assessment of whether we are succeeding. If
you look at Iraq right now — Fallujah specifically — there are
plenty of veterans wondering if their losses there were all for
nothing.

"Just because they gave their lives for something pointless and
political, does not mean we honor them less by saying so,"
tweets
"Gary Owen," a former Army infantry and civil affairs
officer, now a civilian contractor in Afghanistan since 2009.

The Blaze's takedown of Jake Tapper, writes
Army veteran Alex Horton on Twitter, "reveals the unhealthy
bits of hero worship standing in for policy."

It's 2014 and this year is supposed to be the last of what
will very likely be looked back on as a complete disaster in
Afghanistan.

"Down to the lowest soldier, there is a very palpable sense
that everything we’ve done is too little, too late,"
one Army officer told me in 2012 after the pullout date was
announced.

Here's the truth: The U.S. military is no longer in Afghanistan
to win anything. It's just there.

We should
always remember and cherish the lives lost, but we do a
disservice to their memory — and today's troops — by not asking
the tough questions.

"No matter
where you come down on the war in Afghanistan, if you've never
questioned whether it's worth it," Exum wrote
on Twitter. "You're not thinking critically."